Inside Politics Archive: July 2013

New York insurance commissioners say premiums will drop by more than 50 percent next year among individuals who seek health insurance on the state-based exchange tied to President Obama's health care law. Published July 17 2013

ESPN is expected to welcome home liberal firebrand Keith Olbermann, the former MSNBC and Current TV talk-show host known for his outspoken, left-wing commentary and never-ending skewering of conservatives, The New York Times reported.
Published July 17 2013

Reviving an old fight over U.S. funding for the United Nations, Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, is calling on the federal government to put more conditions on the funding the U.S. government gives to the world body. Published July 16 2013

Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said Tuesday that she will challenge Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming in the Republican primary next year — setting the stage for another high-profile intra-party battle. Published July 16 2013

Even as it warns that sequesters are still biting, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it's been able to keep the IRS open and running without having to furlough employees next week. Published July 16 2013

Jorge Ramos, the top political anchor at Spanish-language network Univision, warned Republicans this week that they will lose the next presidential campaign unless the GOP-controlled House passes a bill legalizing illegal immigrants. Published July 16 2013

The Senate Tuesday said it has officially extended benefits to staffers in same-sex unions who have been wed in states where gay marriage is legal, saying staffers have until Aug. 26 to register their partners for health, life insurance and retirement benefits. Published July 16 2013

A top Democrat in the House believes his counterparts in the GOP want to bottle up most legislation and hold out until the 2016 presidential election, in the hopes their party will recapture the White House. Published July 16 2013

President Obama issued an executive order Monday to enhance the federal government's response to "the ongoing domestic HIV epidemic," including expanded testing, the White House said. Published July 15 2013

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush at the White House Monday to honor the 5,000th Point of Light award recipient from the national volunteer service that Mr. Bush helped to create. Published July 15 2013

As the debate over immigration reform swirls in Washington, new polling data released Monday shows that a solid plurality of Americans say they "relate" more to Democrats than Republicans on the issue. Published July 15 2013

In the wake of the George Zimmerman not-guilty verdict, pressure is mounting on the Justice Department to pursue civil rights charges against the neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted Saturday night in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Published July 14 2013

Sen. John McCain on Friday condemned the posthumous conviction of Sergei Magnitsky, an auditor who accused Russian tax officials of corruption and then died in custody in 2009, as a "shameful act" and evidence of the "systematic deterioration of the rule of law" under President Vladimir Putin. Published July 12 2013